PurimPalooza 2009

I'm no fan of Daylight Savings- especially when it means losing an hour of precious weekend time. As I mentioned in my last post, there were some great concerts (it's taking a lot of self control not to blabber on about the Britney Spears concert...) and events this weekend- one of the many pros of living right outside of a city like Miami.

Tonight marks the beginning of even more celebrating, namely for the Jewish holiday of Purim (although all students are welcome to join the festivities). Much like a carnival, there will be free food, a dunk tank, bounce castle (I'm personally very excited for that), and DJ. Because it is in celebration of Purim, costumes are encouraged and there will be a performance by Chassidic rapper Dr. Laz (known for his community work in Brooklyn after the race riots in '91) Tuesday.

Spring break is at the end of this week (the second Friday the 13th of the year for those of us lucky enough to have classes end on Thursday). This seems to mean that professors feel the need to pile on the workload- many (including myself) have exams (other than midterms) this week, as well as papers and projects due now as well as when we return after break. Everyone is spending more and more time at Club Richter (don't get excited.... it's just the library), and I may find myself amongst the stacks if I can't leave facebook alone long enough to write some rough drafts.

A Night Under the Stars study break

Last night, as a plea to our sanity, my lovely R.A. Lisel and A.F. Stephanie hosted a Night Under the Stars study break with our floor (and honorable members). We spread out blankets and towels outside of Richter Library- some students went to study in the nearby tents, while others opted for the hammocks by Ashe fountain.

Energy drinks were generously handed out free of charge (I was able to round up 4 Full Throttles) as were cups of hot tea, coffee, and cocoa.

Lisel captured us at our silliest (and least studious) moment.

Last night was a great way to regain a bit of my sanity- after spending the week in the hospital with a friend, completing an insane amount of projects, and studying for Calc, it was exactly what I needed.

I have some pictures of the hammocks on my mac that I'll be uploading shortly.

Study Break!

So in preparation for exams, my floor mate Alicia (that's her hand in the photo) and I are at Hillel (the Jewish Student Center) studying. They're serving tea, hot chocolate, free food (we just got offered M&M's by Dan, our friend here at Hillel) and free massages!  Tents have also been set up outside of the library and hammocks are hung up amongst the many palms for sporadic napping- the perfect environment for study-intensive hours in my opinion.

Earlier tonight we spent a few minutes down in the lobby of Hecht, where Dr. Whitely read The Polar Express (which is traditionally done with her daughter Megan).  Hot chocolate and freshly baked gingerbread cookies followed.  In fact, each day of this week there is free food as a part of the study break 'movement'.  Everyone needs a break every once in a while.

Speaking of break, mine's up- wish me luck!